Method of making garment-stays.



1.1. o. w1111sw011111.- METHOD 0F MAKING GABMENT STAYS.

APPucAnoN man 0121.10. 1914. v

` Patented Dec. 18, 191?.

' s sHTs-s11ET 2.

- F. L. o. wAnswRH. METHOD 0F MAKING GAHMENT STAYS.

"mm Fm o. m' W Panted Dec. 18,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

\ iFw'EN-ron 5% i@ y Y @fm2 4% FRANK L. O. WADsWoRTPI, AOP PITTSBURGH. PENNsYLvANIA, AssIGNoRTO THE SPIRELLA COMPANY, or ivIEAnvILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION oI-1 PENNSYLVANIA.

IVIETHOLOP MAKING eAmvIENT-STAYS.

Application filed October .10, 1914. Serial No. 866,081.

To all whom t may concern.' y

. Be it known that I, FRANK LFO. WAnsf WORTH, a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful lm-4 provement in Methods of Making Garment- Stays, of which the f ollowmgis a speciication. This invention relatesto the manufacture of wire garment stays and particularlyto that form of stay whichis made up of wlre bentinto sinuous'form to'form two series of loops or eyes lying along the edges ofthe stay and united by avseries of intermediate transverse portions or crossings. lIn such stays the resistance to latwise Ibending. 1s due almost entirelyto the torsional stiffness of the transverse portions. or crossings, while the resistance to 'edgewiseybending isdueI almost entirely to the resistance tobelnding of those portions of the wire which formlthe edge loops. Usually such staysare subjected to more severe bending stresses in a flatwise direction thanrthey are in an edgewisedirection. It is therefore particularly important to form the st ays in such amanner that the torsional stiffness and resiliency of the crossing portions ofthe wire may be as great as possible. l 3 Q The particular obj ects of theinvention are to provide a method offorming/ stays ofthe character described, wherebynsuch stays are not only rendered stiHer-in one tlatwise di rection than in the other butalso possessY an increased resiliency and increased ability to withstand short bendsand avoid taking permanent bends or sets, as compared with stays as heretofore constructed; f l, Aj

According to theV present invention the stay is formed in such a manner thatieach crossing or transverse portion of the wire body is first bent to its final1 form and yposition in the completed stay and is then .twistedto a sutlicient degree to impart a perma-` nent torsional set thereto, the twisting operation being so performed that in the finished stay all of the crossings are twisted yor torsionally set in the same direction. As a. result of this the resistance to flatwisebending is increased and the stayis particularly stiff# ened against bending in the direction which produces a twistin the crossings in the same direction as the initial twistyand it is also` rendered considerably more elastic and re Silient and therefore lcapable of being sub- Speci'ication of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. 1s, 1917.

jected tol shorterbends without permanent 'i distortion. As a consequence, a stay manu# factured according to this method can` be made of smaller and lighter Wire than when made according to prior methods, without renderingethe stay unduly flexible, as well as producing other, advantages Which will be readily4 appreciated by those skilled in theart.` Y v f a @In .the accompanying drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of apparatus for practising my invention, Figure 1 isla front elevation, the left-hand cover plate and the projecting parts on the right and left hand redges of the machine being omitted; Fig. 2 is a detail crossk section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the machine as viewedy from the right in l; Fig. 4.7is a front elevation, partly in section, andshowing the driving mechanism and other parts on the right-hand edge omitted from Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a similar viewof the lleft-hand edge of the machine; Fig. 6 is a partial plan view partly broken out to show a cam; Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-secf tional view Aon the line 7-7, Fig. 1,and ins dicating in dotted lines different positions of the spoolframe; Fig. 8 lis 'a detail cross-secf tional View on the line 8 8, Fig.` 4;. Figs. 9, lO'and 11 are diagrammatic views showing the various steps of 'the method; and Fig. 12 isa diagrammatic view, showing a modification of the vdriving gearing. i y a In carrying out the method, a wire 1 of suitable size is bent around a ,series of pins al, a2 and a3, b1, 7/2 andA b3, arranged inV twol rows with the pins of one row staggered ory set intermediate with those of the other row, to produce a stay bodyhaving two series of oppositely disposed loops 2 lying along the two side edges and united by the transverse portions or crossings 3.4 The pins of each row` may be located suiiiciently close together to cause the adjacent loops at each edge of the stay to overlap, as shown in Fig. 9, or theymay be vspaced so far apart that the loops or eyes remain open, as will be readily understood. Referring to Fig. 9, thewire 1 has just been bent around the pin` b1 to form thetransverse portion ,or crossing 3,y lying at an angle to a true transverse' lineA acrossl the stay, and the set ofpins al, a? andas has been depressed to engage the formed loops. TheV vunformed portion of able manner and the two sets of pins are rotated bodily through 180 degrees around the aXis 0j-05 so as to bring the pins and the formed portion of the stay to the positionv shown in Fig. 10. This imparts a torsional set t0 the last formed transverse portion or crossing 3 in the direction of the arrow m7,-,

Fig. 9. `When the twisting movement is wholly completed and the pins and' formed portion of the stay reach the position shown in Fig. 10, the unformed portion' of the wire isbent aroundy the pin'a1 in the direction inA d-icated by the arrow y.v During the last portion of the bending movement the pins b1', b2 and 3 are withdrawn from engage'- ment with the formed portionl of the stay, thewire is drawn tightly about the pin al; andthe block carrying the pins al, L2 and 0,3 is moved baclrwardly to the position shown in full lines,v Fig'. 11. The pinsY 791, b2 andy 3 are then advanced tothe positions shown in dotted. lines at the left of Fig. 11, and are rengaged with the stay fabric. 1n' this po-l sition of the' parts a new loop` or eye and an additionall transverse portion or crossing have been formed, and all of the parts are reversed just 180 degrees fromthe position" shown in Fig. 9. The unformed portion of the wire is again held stationary and the pins-a1', a2 andina', b1, 52 and baandthe stay fabric heldV thereby are rotated through an y angley of 180' degrees around the axis' 0 0-, in thefsamedirection as before, thus imparting a twist or torsional set tothe newly formed transverse portion or crossing 3: in the same direction as the twist' already im'- partedY to the previously formed4 crossing ThisE brings` the pins and stay fabric to thepositions indicated by the dotted lines at the right of Fig. 11 andV the unformed'y por'- tion of the wire is then carried around the pinl 1 in the same direction as before toV form a new loop' or eye and transverse pon tionV or crossing. During thev last portion of thiszbending movement the pins al, a2 and a3 are withdrawn fromy engagement with the stay and the tension of the wireV around the pin` 1' moves the pins 1, 52 and; 3 backf wardly or to the position shown in Fig, 9, whereupon the pins al, a2 and a3 are ad' vanced and re'e'ngagedl with thestay fabric; T his leaves all of ther parts inthe same positions which they occupied at thebeginning of thev cycle and" ready for a further complete sequence of movements'in' the same directionsto form a new pair of loops or eyes and transverse portions or crossings.

rllhe method may be carried' out by hand, but in the commercial manufacture of the stay according tothe method described, a

suitably organized machine will be employed, such a machine being shown in the drawings.

rlheA machine illustrated comprises two main operating parts: viz., a segment 5 which supports two pivoted pin-block levers 6 and which rotates in a vertical plane around a horizontal axis to impart the necessary twist to the several' transverse or crossing portions of the wire; and (2) a frame 8 which carries a wire supply spool 9 and which rotates about a vertical axis to bend the wire about the pins al, 1, etc.7 in the pin-block levers 6.

Segment 5 comprises two plates 10 which are secured together atV a hx'ed distance from each other and which are'provided with peripheral flanges 11 that slide` in annular grooves behindy a T-shaped rib 12 on the mainframemember 13. rlhe outer'faces of the plates 1l0=are in sliding engagement with front and rearcover plates 14' that are bolted or otherwise secured to the main frame 13a`nd thefouteredgesof the said plates are provided witlr gear teeth which are engaged byy theA gears" 15; which are mounted'iny pairs on short shafts 16 journaled in said cover plates; these shafts being all driven simultaneously' in the same direction7 by the trainsl of intermeshing bevel gears onf the two' vertical shaftsl? and the horizontal? shaft 118'. TheA angular length of the toothed edges of. the plates 10 is about 120 degrees and? the gears 15 are located approximately 90 degrees apart;- sol that during. the revol'u'# tio-n of' the' segmentr 5', the' teethv on the plates 10 are always in mesh1 with one of said pairs of: gears;- and most of" the' time with two thereof-Q The gearing isf so proportioned that for every complete rotation of the' shaft 181segment 5 is rotatedI through exactly 180 degrees.V

The pivoted pin-blocks or levers 6 coperate with an anvil 19 rigidly secured between t'he plates` 10,` and; are normally held against said? a'n'vilbyheavy: compression springs 20, one for each of said; levers; the faces' of the; operative portions 'of the pinL bloclrsbeihg' spaced from the anvily members by rollers 21l against which said' levers are held bythe compression sp 1ings.` These levers, in`- addition tov having a pivotal move'- ment which permits the pins to be raisedI and lowered with respect to the anvil?, have also a' longitudinalf or sliding motion with respect thereto, whichV is permitted by elongated slbts 2Q? in saidE levers through which' the' pivot pin 7 passes; The' pin-block levers are normally held in their advance positions by light compression` springs 23, engaging short arms 24S on the rear ends of said levers;

The spool frame 83 is' an' upright member journal'ed at its lower end1 on a bearing 25 inl the main frameY and at its upper end secured; to a short vertical? shaft 26 which is driven' througl'i` intermeshing' bevel gears by a horizontalE shaft 27 journaled iny the upper portion ofthe main frame'. The drivingV gears are so proportioned'y that the spoolv seo frame is rotated through eXactly 180 degrees for each complete revolution of the driving shaft 27. Rotation ofthe spool 9 Vcarried by said frame is retarded in any suitable manner, as by a pressure spring`28 bearing against said spool, so as to impart a slight tension to the wire as it is fed to the bending and twisting devices and to take up slack and prevent the wire from getting tangled. Y'

The wire passes from fthe spool 9 over an idle pulley 29, and thence through a hollow guiding and bending member 30 provided at its outer end with two grooved rollers 31, the grooves in which are of such size as to formy a roll pass that hugs the wire closely .and has suiiicient grip thereon to prevent it from vmaterially twisting. The guiding member `30 is adjustable toward and from the pin-blocks in an opening vin the spool frame 8, in order to control the length of thevunformed portion of the wire lying `between-"the rollers 31 and the pins al, b1, etc.; and it is'held in adjusted position in any suitable manner, as by a set-screw 32. It also has one side cut out to receive one vendv ofa pressure rod 33 which slides vert-ically -in an opening in the spool frame and whose upper end projects above the same and is adapted duringthe rotation of said frame to contact with stationary cams 34 on the main ,.frame. henever ythe pressure rod 33 contacts one of said cams it is forced downwardlyV against the wire and holds the sametightly. This occurs during the last stage ofthe bending of the wire around each pin andvproduces a tension on the wire at th-is 'time -which coils it tightly' around the pin and also pulls the pin-block lever rearwardly to feed the Vstay through the machine, -as morev vfully hereinafter described. Each of the'cover plates 14, of which there are four, is provided with a ribbed lug carrying an idle roller 35. rlhese rollers are located in oppositely disposed pairs on opposite sides of the vertical aXis around which the spool frame 8 rotates, and support the inner endl of the segment 5A against the-lateral pull of the wire on the endsof the pinblocks 6.

'Shafts 18 and 27, which respectivelyvoperatethesegment' 5 andspool frame 8, are driven by the main drivingshaft 36, which in turn is driven in any suitable manner, as by an elcctricvmotor or a driving pulley thereon (not shown). The driving connections between the main shaft 36 and shafts 18 and l27 are so arranged that said shafts 'are alternately rotated a complete revolution and always inthe Vsame direction. In other words, the-driving shaft 18 is rotated one complete revolution and is then stopped, and thenethe drivingshaft y27 begins to rotate and turns -through a complete revolution, whereupon it stops and the shaft 18 is again Vrotated a complete revolution. Toy effect this result the main driving shaft 36 is providedwith two interrupted gears, a large gear 37 and a smaller gear 38, which respectively operate companion gears 39 and 40 located respectively on the shafts 18 and 27. A portion ofthe circumference of gear 37 is provided `with teeth which mesh with the teeth of the gear 39, andthe remaining portion of the gear 37 is smooth to cooper ate with a smooth concave portion 41 of the gear 39. Whenever the smooth portions of said gears are in engagement with each other gear 37 rotates idly without ro-tating the gear 39, which in turn is locked against rotation and consequently holds the segment 5 stationary; .When the teeth of the gears'v 37 and 39 are in engagement, ythe segment 5 is, moved around in its circular path. Gears 38 and 4:0 areof the same construction and arrangement as the gears 37 and 39, but are of different sizes, and the relation betweengears 37 and 38is -suchy that the smooth portion of gear 37 locks'the gear 39 e at the time when the gear38 is rotating the gear 40, andV likewise the smooth portion f gear 38 locks the gear 40 when the gear 37 is rotating the'gear 39. Y

1n the drawings, the parts of the machine Yhave been shown in al1 views in theposi- .tions corresponding tothe positionof the wire indicated at B, Fig. '10. 1 Thezspo'ol frame 8 is being rotated in a clockwise direction, Fig. 7, andthe segment 5 is held stationary bythesmooth parts of thegears 37 and 39.` The front pin-block lever 6 (which corresponds to the lower'pin-blo'ck shown in Figs. 10 and 11). carrying the pins b1, b2 and b3, is disengaged from the ,stay fabric and has been moved to its advance position (shown at the left in Fig. 11) by the spring 23. This disengagement has been effected by va cam 42 onthe shaft26, which acts against .a roller on la' sliding rodt3 pivotallyfc'onnected to one end ofa lever 4H, whose other end operates afsegment 45 slidably mounted in` such position in the fixed frame 13 asrto make contact at this par,- ticular a position of. 'the segment .5,jwith a roller. on one arm of a bell-crank lever :46 pivoted between the'plates 10 of the segment 5, and connected by a link 47' to the front pin-block lever 6. A similar arrangement is provided for the rear pin-block lever;v the sliding segment a for operating said lever being located at 180 degrees from the segmentt and being itself operated by a bellcrank` leverl 48 connected to a" sliding rod 49 Vprovidedwith a roller'fwhich contacts with a camr50 on the shaft 27 Shafts 27 and 26 operate in timed relation to each other, so that the segments l5 and etu operatetheir respective pineblock lever connections when.- everthe segment 5 occupies either one of its two-xed'positions. 'l

Starting with the various parts of the machine in the positions shown, continuation of the movement of the spool frame carries the wire around in a clockwise direction from position B to position C, Figs. 7 and 10.Y At position C, or sh-ortly thereafter', the rod 33 engages the cam 34 and the unformed portion of the wire is tightly gripped in the guiding member 30, so that it is tightly drawn around the pin al. The pressure of the wire against said pin forces the rear pin-block lever carrying the same backwardly one half the distance between successive loops along one edge of the stay, or to the position shown in full lines, Fig. 11. At this stage of the movement the other pin-block lever has been lifted out of engagement with the stay fabric and has been carried forward to its advance position, by the action of the cam 42 and spring 23, as described. 1When the spool carrying frame .8 reaches position D, Figs. 7 and 11, it stops, due to the fact that the smooth portion of the gear 3S engages the smooth concave portion of the gear 40. Simultaneously, the cam 42 passes beyond the roller on the rod 43 and the pressure of the spring 20 upon the elevated pin-block lever pushes back the segment 45 and depresses the pin-block lever, so that the pins b1, b2 and b3 are rengaged with the stay fabric (as shown in the left-hand portion of Fig. 11). Segment 5 now begins to rotate in a counterclochwise direction,-as yshown by the arrow e of Fig. l-and revolves the stay body about the axis 0-0 (Figs. 7 and 11). This imparts a twist to the unformed portion of the wire lying between the guiding member 3() and the pin al, including that portion of the wire which Ahas been bent to form the new transverse portion or crossing 3a and which now lies in its nal position. After the segment 5 has rotated through 180 degrees, so as to bring the stay body into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 11, the segment becomes stationary and the spool frame 8 begins to rotate in the same direction as before, namely, in a Aclockwise direction, Fig. 7. The unformed portion of the wire is now bent around the advanced pin 1 to form a new loop or eye. The spool frame rotates through 180 degrees, and during the last portion of its movement the rod 33 engages a second cam 34, firmly grips the wire and draws it tightly around the pin 1. At this time the cam 50 has also depressed the rod 49 and pushed in the segment 45a, so that the rear pin-block lever, carrying the pins al, a2 and a3, is disengaged fr-om the stay fabric and advanced one half the distance between adjacent loops or eyes by the rear spring 23. The tension of the wire around the advanced pin b1 pushes its pin-block lever rearwardly, or to the position shown in Fig. 9, and at the conclusion of the turning movement of the spo-ol frame 8 the advanced pinblocli lever carrying the pins c1, u2 and a3, etc., is reengaged with the stay fabric, by the withdrawal -of the cam 50 from the roller on the rod 49. The wire then occupies the position, relatively to the several pins, as shown at A in Fig. 9. Spool frame 8 now becomes stationary and the segment 5 again begins to rotate, and Vin the same direction as before, namely, in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 1. This rotates the stay bodyv about the same aXis 0-0 from the position shown in Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig. 10, which imparts a twist Lto the unf-ormed portion of the wire, including the last formed crossing portion of the stay body. Then the stay body reaches the position shown in Fig. 10 the segment 5 again becomes stationary and the spool frame 8 begins to rotate, as before, bending the unformed portion of the wire around the advanced pin al, through the positions B, C and D, as before, the operations being continued in succession to form the stay body.

The formed stay body travels back along the anvil 19 and around a series of straightening devices, such as the rollers 51, 52, which are journaled between the plates 10 of the segment 5. The intermediate roller 52 preferably has its pivot` adjustable in slots 53 in order to increase or diminish the straightening effect. The formed stay passes from the straightening devices to a reel having an axle which engages slots 55 in the edges of the plates 10. Said reel preferably comprises two thin circular' plates 56 between which the stay is received, and the edges of which plates are roughened and have a loose contact with the inner face of the E'shaped rib 12, as shown in Fig. 2. This produces a constant drag on the reel whenever the segment 5 is rotating, which winds the formed stay thereon and prevents slack therein.

For clearness of illustration, in the drawings the front pin-block lever is shown in its raised position-with its pins disengaged from the stay fabric-when the spool frame 8 has revolved to the position B (of Figs. 7 and 10), or through only about one third of its complete revolution. Preferably, however, the cam 42 will be made as shown by the dotted line 60, Fig. 6, and so arranged as to disengage the pin-block lever from the stay fabric when the spool frame has reached the position C of Figs. 7 and 10 and has thus completed about two thirds of its` movement. This permits the clamp-- ing of the stay against anvil 19 by both pinblock levers, through a greater portion of the time occupied in bending the wire around the pins. The arrangement will be such that the pins are disengaged fromv the stay fabric just before the forward pin on the pin-block to be disengaged is reached by the wire being bent, said pin-block being advanced and rengaged with the stay fabric as soon as the wire being bent to form the neXt crossing portion of the stay assumes its final position. The cam 50 will, of course, be similarly arranged. It will also be understood that in the particular machine shown shaft 27 rotates twice for each rotation of the shaft 26, so that the segment 45a is pushed in twice during each complete rotation of the segment 5, while the segment l5 is pushed in only once. Therefore, one of the strokes of the segment 45a is an idle stroke which has no effect upon the mechanism.

It will be observed that the stay is formed by relative motion between two members which rotate in planes at 90 degrees from each other, said members rotating alternately and each always rotating in the same direction. This does away entirely with reciprocating action and enables the stay to be formed in a much more simple and direct manner than with prior machines. Each crossing portion of the wire is rotated through substantially 180 degrees so that a very material twist can be imparted thereto, consequently giving greater resistance to bending in one iiatwise direction than in the other. In forming the stay, the stay body is held stationary and the wire is bent across the stay to form the edge loops and transverse portions or crossings, and to impart the twist or torsional set to the crossings the unformed portion of the wire is held stationary and the stay body is rotated relatively thereto.

In the machine described the spool frame and the segment carrying the pin-blocks are each alternately movable and stationary, or, in other words, leach thereof is stationary while the other is at rest and moves while the other is stationary. This, however, is not essential, as the method may be performed on a machine in which both members move all the time but preferably at varying speeds, so that during the operative portion of the movement of each member it moves rapidly and the companion member moves slowly. For example, in Fig. 12 the points 27a, 18a and 36a represent the operating shafts of such a machine, corresponding to the shafts 27, 18 and 36 of the machine before described. These shafts are connected by pairs of elliptical gears 38a, 40a, and 37a, 39a, so disposed thereon that when one of the driving gears, say the gear 38a, is rotating its gear /lOa at the higher speed, the other driving gear 37J1 is rotating its gear 39 at the lower speed, and vice versa. lWith this or any equivalent arrangement the spool frame will move slowly while the segment is performing its motion to twist the crossings, and the segment will move slowly while the spool frame is rotating to bend the wire.

Various other forms of mechanism are suitable for carrying out the method, that shown being merely illustrative, and it is understood that the invention is not limited to any particular form of mechanism.

What I claim is l. T he method of forming wire garment stays, consisting in bending wire to form two series of oppositely disposed edge loops or eyes united by transverse portions or crossings, and after each crossing portion of the wire is bent to final form and before forming the next loop or eye twisting the formed loop or eye to impart a permanent torsional set to the last formed crossing portion of the wire.

2. The method of forming wire garment stays, consisting in holding the unformed portion of the wire and rotating the stay body with relation thereto to impart a twist to the newly formed crossing portion of the wire, and then bending the wire to form a new loop or eye.

3. The method of forming wire garment stays embodying oppositely disposed edge loops or eyes united by transverse portions FRANK L. O. WADSWORTH.

Witnesses:

C. B. SANDEnsoN, WILLIAM B. WHARTON.

copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

